In general, a cup holder installed in a car is disposed on an audio or air conditioner control panel or on a floor control tray that is located between speed control lever and elbow compartment.
The cup holder may have a fixed size or a variable size to accommodate various fluid containers. Also, the cup holder has a structure that can firmly support the outer surface of the container during driving.
The cup holder that can accommodate fluid containers of various diameters includes a cup holder housing, where multiple supporting receptors are mounted inside the cup receiving space of the cup holder. Each of the multiple supporting receptors has a supporting member that compresses a spring as it moves away from the receiving space when a user places a cup inside the cup receiving space.
Stated differently, the multiple supporting receptors are protruding into the receiving space by the resilient force of springs. Then, when the user inserts a container into the cup receiving space, the outer surface of the container pushes the multiple supporting receptors away from the receiving space and the springs are compressed. The compressed springs firmly push the multiple supporting receptors against the outer surface of the container.
However, the conventional cup holder has difficulty in holding a container that has a relatively small waist or a large bottom area (such as a beer can having a protruding portion near its bottom) since the multiple supporting receptors may be stuck in the waist when the user dismounts such container from the cup holder. Also, for the case of a large container, the multiple supporting receptors make contact with the container near the bottom portion of the container, making the container easily fall over and spill the liquid over the car.
Accordingly, in Korean patent Serial No. 10-0837086, the present inventor suggested a cup holder that includes: a cup holder housing that has a container receiver; supporting members that is combined with a support unit and can rotate centered at the first pin, the support unit being disposed outer side of the container receiver; a spring disposed between the support unit and the supporting members and configured to push the supporting members against the container; the second pin disposed on the bottom side of supporting member; a first guide groove and a second guide groove that are disposed on the support unit and configured to guide the first pin and the second pin to move downwardly and/or sideway when a container is inserted into the container receiver; and the spring including two circular hooks and a tension bar.
However, in the previous invention, the supporting members make contact with the container at the bottom side of the container only, making the container easily fall over. Also, user cannot easily dismount a container having a small waist since the supporting members may be stuck to the waist area.